An Angel Died in My Room
by Destiny's Call
Summary: Seirei Strife has always believed in ghosts, but never expected to meet one, or fall in love with one. And there's another, dangerous ghost that seems to want Seirei. Demyx/OC, Namixas, SoKai, Mar/Larx, AkuShi, Zexion/OC, Riku/Yuffie
1. An End and a Beginning

**Chapter One: The End and the Beginning**

"Myde! Come down for dinner! We have guests!" Mom yells up. I set down my papers with a slight huff. I'm in the middle of a composition, and I really want to finish it. Sighing, I quickly pull my long dirty-blonde hair into a ponytail. Personally, I like to leave it down, but Dad insists on pulling it back. Yeah, easy for you to say, Dad, you have short hair. I walk downstairs to see my parents' best friends. I'm not too surprised; they come over every so often.

I put on my best smile, still a bit crooked, to greet them. "Hello, Aunt Light." My aunt turns around with a grin.

"Myde! It's been so long since I've seen you!" Aunt Light says. "You're so tall now, you're just a weed!" She embraces me, which I accept. Aunt Light really is a nice person. She disguised herself as a man and went into the army to fight against the South just a few years ago.

"Well, well. Look at you." Another two of my parents' friends come up.

"Hello, Hope. Hello, Vanille." I greet pleasantly. These two are married and expecting a child to come in a few months.

"Not every day that a great boy turns eighteen." Hope says, ruffling my hair real quick. "You must be proud, Snow."

Dad shrugs. "Serah did the most work. I just slept." Mom laughs at Dad's joke. Aunt Light is Mom's older sister, and from what I've heard, Aunt Light didn't want Mom to marry Dad, but Mom ignored her and did anyways, and then I came into the picture, and, well, Aunt Light adores me.

I just realized that I forgot to mention why they're here. I know, you see. It's my eighteenth birthday today. I'm actually getting ready to go to college, and maybe become a famous composer someday. I've already written a lot of music.

There were only three more people to greet. Fang, Sazh, and his son, Dajh. His son's about six years older than me. He's already graduated and has his eye on a certain woman to marry soon.

"Happy birthday, Myde Villiers!" Dajh says. We're best friends, no matter what others think.

"Thanks, Dajh." I say with a smile. "This is the best birthday ever." It's getting dark, so Mom lights a lantern and sets it on the table, and prepares to get the feast ready.

"I'll be in my room for a minute." I say and leave before anyone can object. Upstairs, in my room, I start to write for a moment. I write for a while, until I hear someone scream. Was that Vanille?

Then, I heard my dad's frantic voice. "Myde! Get downstairs and out the door, now!" Then, I smell the smoke. Someone must've knocked the lantern over and started a blaze. I start to the door, but then I remember. My music! I can't go without it!

I start to collect as many sheets as I can, when I eventually notice the smoke crawling into my room. Frantically, I stuff the sheets under a loose board on the floor. I run to go outside, but I realize how much smoke has accumulated through my frantic rushing time. I start to cough as smoke forces its way into my lungs.

"Myde!" My mother's voice carries through the window. "MYDE!" I'm sure she must see how much smoke is in my room through the window. The window! If I open it, the smoke can clear out, and I can escape. Sure, I might break my leg, but I'll be alive.

I drop to all fours, but the smoke is down here too. It's still pushing into my lungs, and I cough harder, trying to get it out. I crawl faster and faster, trying to reach the window. As I get close enough, I stand up and reach my hand out to open the latch. I do, and the window swings open, but the smoke isn't ready to let me go. Death is trying to claim me from my family and friends.

I try to reach the window and at least breathe in some clean air, but I feel myself growing weaker and weaker, until I collapse, my body still racking with my coughs, shaking and trembling. My throat is closing in, and I feel my eyelids grow heavy. I'm tired. I need to sleep.

My eyelids start to drop. "Myde! Stay awake! I'm coming to get you!" My father's voice is nearby, and I follow his orders. I feel someone pick me up and go to the window and climb down something by it. A ladder, maybe. As I feel Dad touch the ground, Mom runs over.

"Myde! Myde! We need the doctor, Snow! I don't know how long it'll take Sazh!" My mother is frantic.

I'm still coughing, but now I need to comfort her. As my body trembles with the enormous force of the coughs, I manage to choke out, "Mom…my…" Mom kneels down beside me, looking straight into my eyes.

"I'm here, Myde. Just stay awake for me. Stay awake, please." My eyelids are heavier than before, and despite my trying and my parents' begging, I feel them closing.

"Myde! Myde, no! You can't! Stay awake, please!" Dajh. But I need to sleep. I'm exhausted and my body needs rest. I'll feel better when I wake up. Despite all the protests, I close my eyes, and fall asleep. As I do so, I hear a new voice, a voice I've never heard before; a girl's voice.

"Myde, I need you. Please come back." And I close my eyes. It's not like I won't wake up.

* * *

><p>"Seirei! Come and help us!" My mother's shout carries across the front yard as I stand there, admiring the view of the house. Our new house.<p>

I turn around. "Coming, Mom!" I call back and go back to the moving van. My father loads a few boxes in my arms, and my mother makes sure I'm stable before sending me off.

My parents, Cloud and Tifa Strife, are pretty attractive. For one thing, they're fairly young. I'm fifteen, they're in their thirties. I was born when my mom was nineteen and my dad was twenty. They met in college and married before they graduated.

Mom has silky, glossy, smooth black hair that falls down just a tad past shoulder length. Her eyes are somewhere between almond shaped and round and are a pretty color of caramel brown with darker specks in them. Her smile is always bright and kind. Her skin's complexion is fairly pale, and she has an aura of excitement and energy about her no matter what, even in the middle of the night.

Dad is quite the opposite of my mother. His hair is a golden blonde color and it is really spiky and virtually gravity-defying. His eyes are a bright electric blue that give off no emotion. Dad's complexion is somewhat pale too, but darker than Mom's. He rarely ever gives off any emotion whatsoever, and when he does, it's usually around us, his family. He is also pretty grouchy if he doesn't have his sleep, but is also extremely protective of us.

I walk, teetering and tottering to make sure that the boxes I carry won't fall over and spill out onto the yard. That would suck. As I think this, someone runs by me, almost making the boxes fall. I looked past the stack and glare.

"Roxas!" My younger brother turns around.

"What?" He asks.

"Don't you realize I'm having a little difficulty maneuvering these boxes? Your running by me doesn't help!"

Roxas rolls his eyes. "Sure, Sis. Whatev." I probably also should mention my little brother, though it's only by ten minutes. Yep. I'm an older twin, which I love to brag about to Roxas. We don't look anything alike, though. I take after Mom, he takes after Dad. It's not hard to see the resemblance. He has the same blonde hair that defies gravity and electric blue eyes of my father. Their skin tone is also about the same shade. Pretty nice boy, my brother is, and the two of us are joined at the hip, but he can get a little annoyed at me, and I him. Come on, we're siblings!

"Roxas! Get some stuff!" Roxas starts grumbling as he walks over to the van. I carry my stack of boxes into the living room, and sort them accordingly. I look at each label. Kitchen, Living Room, Roxas's Room, Bathroom (we have a whole stack for the bathrooms. Don't ask why), Seirei's Room, Master Bedroom, et cetera.

I will not tell you how long it takes to get everything sorted and stacked, but finally it's time to choose our rooms. Roxas instantly takes the one that was most likely the largest beside the master bedroom. I roll my eyes at him, and choose my room. It's a few doors down from Roxas's room, and somewhat smaller that his, but I think it's really nice. The walls are painted like an ocean view and it's pretty inside. Mom and Dad told us that we could repaint the walls in our rooms, but I'm not changing mine. It's perfect already as it is.

* * *

><p>We get our bedrooms all ready to sleep in, and get the dining room and kitchen set up as Mom orders pizza. Mmm. Personally, I would rather have Chinese takeout, but pizza's okay. Plus, it makes Roxas happy. We virtually have an empathetic bond. He's happy, I'm happy. I'm happy, he's happy. It's really that simple.<p>

When the pizza comes, we sit down and talk about our house as we eat. It's a really old house; built back just after the Revolutionary War. Man, is it old!

"So, Roxas, Seirei, what do you think of your rooms. Do you want to repaint them?" Dad asks after swallowing a bite of his pizza.

"Heck yeah!" Roxas says as I say, "No thanks." All eyes went to me.

"Why not, dear?" Mom asks.

I shrug. "I like the way it looks right now."

"Yeah. Painted like the ocean. When are you going to get over that obsession?" Roxas asks teasingly. I roll my eyes at him and shake my head.

"As soon as you give up Struggle." I reply.

Roxas's eyes go wide with horror. "Never! I'll never give up Struggle! I'm joining the Struggle club here, so I'm not quitting."

"Then, I guess I'll always love the ocean." I say. Mom is giggling as our small, teasing argument ends, and Dad is observing with a smile playing at his lips. Oh, yes. I'm going to like it here.

* * *

><p>After dinner ends, I go up to my room, and suddenly feel as if it's chilly. I walk to the window to close it, but it isn't open. Weird. I shrug and take my pajamas to my bathroom and take a nice, long shower. After I change into my pajamas, light blue pants and top, I walk downstairs, say goodnight to Mom and Dad, and go to Roxas's room.<p>

He's already asleep. Boy, is he cute when he's sleeping. I pull up his mess of wadded sheets to his chin and kiss him on the forehead. "Goodnight, Roxy." I whisper and return to my room, where my warm bed awaits me, welcoming me with open arms. I slide beneath the covers and fall asleep. It is going to be nice here.

* * *

><p><em>(AN: So this is my next story. Don't worry, I'll be doing this, Double It!, and my KHIII story around the same time. Hope you like so far. Please review, and no flames.<em>

_Love,_

_Destiny.)`_


	2. When Two Worlds Meet

**Chapter Two: When Two Worlds Meet  
><strong>

I look at the new family with interest as they pull in. _Oh, boy. Here comes another one._ I think. First to climb out a two adults, most likely the parents, and then a teenage boy. I close my eyes and fade over to get a better look. Then, the last door opens and out steps a teenage girl. She has shoulder length black hair that is left down and loose, and it's completely straight. Her eyes are electric blue, not unlike the man's most likely her father.

She walks past me and looks at the house a little bit, when the woman, most likely her mother, calls her. I fade back to my room, still watching her. I sit on the window ledge, relaxing, when I hear a voice.

"This is mine!" It sounds like a young boy.

"Whatev, Rox." A young girl's voice. It sounds a bit familiar. Then, I see her come into my room, with a few boxes. They are labeled 'Seirei's Room'. Seirei. That must be her name. It's a really pretty name.

* * *

><p>Later, when she comes back into the room, I notice there are goose bumps all over her arms. She walked towards the window, as if to shut it, but notices that it's closed. She blinks a few times, gets some pajamas out of her closet, and leaves the room.<p>

I wish that I could say that I don't care she left to change, but I'll admit that there's that hormonal part of myself that wishes she had stayed in her bedroom to change, a thought that I quickly stifle down. She walks back in and crawls into bed with a small grin on her face. I blink, wondering about her.

* * *

><p>It's afternoon when I fad back into the room, my old room, currently her room. I hear the door open and two people calling to their mother, thumping on the stairs, and then the door swings open and the girl, Seirei, walks in. She tosses her messenger bag onto her bed and sat down beside it, pulling out what was probably homework.<p>

After she was done with that she started to the door, when she stepped on a certain board and it went down a bit. She froze and dropped to her knees, looking at the board. She pulled it up a bit and reached her hand beneath the board, and pulled a bundle of papers up. Wait…

"Those are mine." I say instinctively. The girl stiffens and raises her head, obviously seeing me. "Hi." I wave a bit. Her mouth starts opening, and I know what's coming. I dash forward and clamp my hand over her mouth, making the scream unheard. A shiver goes down her back, and when she's done screaming, I let go.

"Who… who are you?" She asks.

"Myde. Myde Villiers." I reply. "But just call me Demyx."

"Myde to Demyx? How does that work out?" She seems to still be trying to pull herself together; she's still shaking.

"Well… it's kind of confusing. I'd rather not talk about it."

"And you're… you're…"

"A ghost?" She nods. "Yeah, I am." I wring my hands nervously. I hate that word. "So, what's your name?"

"Seirei. Seirei Strife." Her name sounds even prettier in her voice. "Um… since when have ghosts had mullets?" I lift my hand to touch my hair a bit.

I laugh for a little bit. "Well, ponytails on men went out of style in the 1900s, no? Or did I get that wrong?"

"1900s? Wait… wait… when did you die?"

"August 4, 1869." I reply, and feel a familiar sensation in my chest. I start coughing heavily, wheeze in a deep breath, and feel by body trembling with the coughs.

"What's going on? Are you okay?" Seirei almost yells. I hope no one hears. I take in another deep breath.

"I'm fine. It happens occasionally." I say between coughing. I feel the fits settling down, and I stand up straight.

"Why?" She asks.

"Did you know that there was a fire here?" I ask.

"Well, I have seen scorch marks downstairs, but what does- oh." I scratch the back of my head. "You…"

"Smoke inhalation." I say. "I was coughing before I died, I cough now. It's pretty bad."

"So…" Seirei starts.

"Seirei! Sis!" The door opens and I fade out of the room quickly. Don't wanna meet her brother yet.

* * *

><p>"So, see you tomorrow, Seirei?" Kairi Esthiem asks.<br>"Yeah. See you guys." I have a few friends now, first is Kairi Esthiem. She's a bright, cheery girl with flame red hair and ocean blue eyes and cream colored skin. Also is Sora Leonhart, a nice boy that looks kind of like Roxas, and has caramel brown hair and ocean blue eyes a shade darker than Kairi's. His skin is fairly dark too. He acts a bit like Kairi, friendly and optimistic.

Next was Riku Fair. He had shoulder length silver hair that gleamed a bit in the sun and his eyes were aquamarine colored. His skin was pale like sun-bleached sand. Along with him was his girlfriend Yuffie Kisaragi. She had chin length night black hair and brown eyes. Her skin is fair too, like her boyfriend's. She is also in all martial arts and knows pretty much everything that has to do with fighting.

"Did you know my brother thinks the school is haunted?" Kairi suddenly asks.

"Hm?" I ask.

"Yeah. He and some of his friends, are paranormal investigators, but I don't believe in ghosts. It's a load of crap."

"Well," I say, "I believe in ghosts. But, to each her own." That's when I see Roxas talking to three girls that looked alike.

"Oh. Speak of the devil." Kairi says as we walk over to them. "Hey, Xion."

A girl with chin length black hair, blue eyes, and cream colored skin looks up. "Oh, hey Kairi."

"Seirei. There you are." Roxas says.

"Hey, Rox. Who are your friends?" I ask.

"Oh, right. These are Xion, Namine, and Hikari Farron. They're triplets." Namine and Hikari look a lot like Xion, except that Namine has pale blonde hair that goes a few inches past shoulder length and Hikari has pink hair that was pulled in a ponytail that went halfway down her back.

I'm about to say something, when I hear a car honk. "Hey! Kairi! Farrons! Come on!" I turn to see a convertible fire red corvette with an older teenage boy in the driver's seat. He looks kind of like Kairi with spiky flame red hair and emerald green eyes. He seems to have upside down triangle tattoos beneath his eyes.

"Gotta go." Kairi says. She plants a kiss on Sora's cheek and leaves with the triplets. Kairi jumps into the backseat with Hikari and Namine. Xion climbs into the front seat with a slight grin at the driver, and they leave.

When Roxas and I get back home, I first do my homework and start to go downstairs to get a snack, when I feel a single board move down. I stop and drop to my knees and pry the board open barely and see sheets of paper I pull them out to look at them…

"Those are mine." I freeze, and look up to see someone sitting on my bed. The person is a boy, a few years older than me. He has dirty blonde hair styled into a mullet, and his eyes are a bright aquamarine, neither blue nor green. He's wearing an unzipped gray hoodie over a black t-shirt, ripped jeans, and tennis shoes. He waves. "Hi."

I instantly feel myself about to scream. I mean, there's a freaking guy in my bedroom! Suddenly, I feel a hand clamp around my mouth as I scream, muffling the scream and making it inaudible. His hand is ice cold, and as he stands in front of me, I realize he's somewhat transparent.

I feel a shiver run down my spine as he pulls back and looks at me. "Who…" I say, "Who are you?"

"Myde. Myde Villiers." He replies. "But just call me Demyx."

I blink. "Myde to Demyx?" I ask. "How does that work out?" I feel myself still shaking. He really spooked me.

"Well…" he replies, "it's kind of confusing. I'd rather not talk about it."

I'm still trembling, though it isn't as bad. "And you're… you're…"

"A ghost?" I nod. "Yeah, I am." He wrings his hands and I can tell this isn't a comfortable topic. He changes the subject. "So, what's your name?" Demyx asks.

"Seirei." I answer. "Seirei Strife." Then, I change the subject even more. "Um… since when have ghosts had mullets?"

He laughs a bit, a nice, musical laugh. "Well, ponytails on men went out of style in the 1900s, no? Or did I get that wrong?"

I basically do a double-take. "1900s? Wait… wait… when did you die?"

He closes his eyes as if calling forth a memory. "August 4, 1869." Then, he starts panting, doubles over, and coughs heavily as if trying to force something from his lungs. His body is racking with the force of his coughing.

"What's going on?" I ask, somewhat loudly and frantically. "Are you okay?"

Demyx takes in a deep breath. "I'm fine. It happens occasionally." He says between coughs, which are much gentler than before. He stands up straight.

"Why?" I ask.

Demyx doesn't directly answer my question. "Did you know that there was a fire here?" He asks me.

I remember what I had seen in the kitchen. "Well, I have seen scorch marks downstairs, but what does-" I realize what he's going at. "oh." Demyx scratches the back of his head. "You…" I couldn't say it.

"Smoke inhalation." He says. How he can manage to say it without any sign of discomfort I've no idea. "I was coughing before I died, I cough now. It's pretty bad."

I decide to change the subject again. "So…"

"Seirei! Sis!" Roxas bursts in. I notice out of the corner of my eye that Demyx has disappeared. I sigh inwardly. Roxas notices the papers in my hands. "What do you have there?"

"It looks like handwritten sheet music." I say. "It's written by…" I read the corner. "Myde Villiers?" Demyx wrote sheet music. Who knew?

"Hmm… didn't Dad say something about the Villierses?" He asks. "Like, there was a fire in their house and they lost their son?"

"Myde's a boy's name, right?" I ask. Roxas nods. "We should ask Mom and Dad." I suggest. Roxas agrees.

"Oh, yeah! And Mom says that dinner's ready." Roxas says. "We can ask them then." I nod and he goes out. I look back over my shoulder, as if hoping to see Demyx, but he's not there. Shrugging, I go downstairs for dinner. As I leave, I feel a chill run past my arms, almost as if he's teasing me. I sigh with a smile and leave.

* * *

><p><em>(AN: And here's the next chapter. And I showed quite a few new characters, and Seirei and Demyx have met? How's this gonna go? You have to review to find out!)<em>


	3. There's a Ghost in My Room

_(AN: I'm changing to past tense. I _cannot_ write in present to save my life.)_

_**Chapter Three: There's a Ghost in My Bedroom**_

I looked over at Seirei as she started her homework. After a few minutes, she sighed in annoyance.

"Need some help?" I asked. She jumped slightly.

"Demyx, I've told you before. Don't show up without warning." She sighed.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, Seirei. So do you?"

"Well, unless you have an interesting story of the civil war around this area, no."

I smirked and sat on her bed beside her. "Actually, I do."

Seirei turned to look at me, eyes wide. "Really?"

"The civil war ended just a few years before I died, remember?"

She blushed a bit. "Oh yeah. Well? Spill it."

I smiled with a shake of my head. "Patience, Seirei." She rolled her eyes and I laughed. "All right. Well, have you heard about the spy for the South? They lived in this town." She waved her hand to go on. "Cid Raines was his name. I remember the story pretty well.

"I was twelve at the time. It was two years until the war ended. I remember at the time I was at home with my mother, Serah, and my best friend Dajh Katzroy. Dajh's father, Sazh, was fighting along with my father, Snow, their friend Hope, and my Aunt Light."

"Your aunt was a nurse?"

"No. She disguised herself as a man so she could fight."

"And Hope…"

"A guy."

Seirei's face was blank. "Go on."

"So, it was one of those nameless battles. Dad, Aunt Light, Sazh, and Hope were getting ready to leave, when they heard a voice say, 'Freeze!'

"They turned around to see Raines. He was holding a gun, aiming it at them. Dad was a bit scared, and he asked, 'What the hell is wrong with you? We're on your side!'

"Then, Raines said, 'No. You are _not _on my side, dirty northerners.' And my aunt realized what was going on. Raines was a traitor. He was a spy for the South.

"She ran at him with her hunting knife, and Raines was about to shoot her, but Hope pushed her out of the way and was shot instead.

"Several others heard the commotion and came over, so Raines fled. He was shot down a few days later."

"What about Hope?" Seirei asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"Hope? Oh, yeah. They were sure he was going to die, but one nurse named Vanille said that she save him, or at least try to."

"And…"

"He lived, and after the war, he asked for her hand. She was pregnant last I knew." I thought a bit. "What's the assignment?"

"To find a story about the community during the civil war and also say how it affects us today."

"Well, why don't you find about their descendents? If Raines had succeeded and they died, how would it have changed the present?"

"Wow, Demyx. You're a genius."

"I try to." I said, and then I made it so her hand passed through me as she tried to whack me. I smirked and made myself solid again.

"That's cheating, you know." She said. "Anyways, what are their names? I want to look them up."

"Last I knew?" Seirei nodded. "Well, Lightning Farron, Snow Villiers, Hope and Vanille Esthiem, Sazh Katzroy, and it would be nice if you could look up Vanille's sister, Fang Oerba, too."

"How do you spell those?" She asked. I rolled my eyes and took the pen from her, writing each name down.

"Thanks, Dem… there's a problem."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Where do I say I got this information from? I can't really say, 'from the ghost of Myde Villiers, who lives in my bedroom.' Now can I?"

"Hmm… that _is_ a problem." I closed my eyes, thinking. "I've got it! Follow me!" I stood up. She did too.

"Where are we going?"

"To the attic."

"We have an attic?" Seirei asked. I nodded. I found the small door out of the way. It was a big house, five stories and an attic. My parents made it a boardinghouse, so there was room for about thirty people. They probably hadn't been down this way. I opened the door, and there was the staircase. I went up first, and I noticed that Seirei clung to my waist.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"I'm scared of the dark." She whispered. I didn't ask again, or ask her to remove her arms. It felt nice. Warm. But of course it did, seeing that my normal temperature was about sixty degrees.

When we got up there, I turned on the light, and Seirei let me go, looking around. "Who knew this was here?"

"I did." I said. She rolled her eyes, and continued looking. I decided to look around to.

"So, what are we looking for?" Seirei asked. I found it.

"This." I held up a small journal and opened it to a few pages in where I had written the story my father told me. I handed it to her. "There you are." I said, handing her the journal. She read it, and her smile grew wider and wider.

"This is perfect!" She hugged me tightly. "Thanks, Demyx! Now I can start writing my paper!" She bolted down the stairs. I smirked, turned off the light from the middle of the room, closed the door, and faded into her room.

"This is perfect! I've got my story, a source, and an idea!" She said excitedly as she walked to dinner. I just smiled as I followed her.

* * *

><p>Demyx is a genius. That's just part of the guy. I've got my paper planned out in my head. As I looked at the journal again, I saw Hope's last name. Esthiem. Wasn't that Kairi's last name? I shrugged and went on into the dining room.<p>

"What's that, sis?" Roxas asked.

"Just one of the greatest things I found." I showed him it.

"A journal? Where'd you find it?" My twin asked as he looked at it.

"The attic."

"We have an attic?" Mom asked. I nodded.

"So, what's so great about this journal?"

"It's Myde Villiers, and he apparently was alive during the civil war, so I've got my paper planned out!" I said triumphantly, snatching the journal away.

"That's great, kids. Now, come and eat." Dad said.

Dinner was fairly nice, and I started my paper by writing what Demyx had written in his journal, word for word. Pretty soon, though, I ran out of stuff to write about so I went to take my shower and get ready for bed. I tucked Roxas in his bed out of habit. We never stopped that tradition, no matter how old we've gotten.

When I walked into my room, I felt the familiar, comforting chill. I closed my door. "Hello, Demyx."

"You're going to bed already?" He asked. I rolled my eyes a bit.

"I'm tired, Demyx. And tomorrow I'll probably be pulling an all-nighter." I said, slightly hissing. I was tired.

"Okay, then. Sorry." He said, putting his hands up in a gesture of peace. I laughed slightly, and soon fell asleep.

* * *

><p>When I woke up next morning, I felt colder than when I had fallen asleep, and I noticed two slightly transparent arms around my waist and someone's chin on top of my head, and I sighed. I elbowed the person that had climbed in my bed last night, and he grunted awake.<p>

"Why, Demyx?" I asked as he stood up.

"You were having a nightmare and wouldn't calm down, so I kind of fell asleep next to you." I noticed he was blushing. "Sorry. Sorry. I-" I shook my head with a sigh.

"It's alright. I liked it."

"Hm?"

"Just… your temperature is calming to me."

"Oh."

"Stay here. I'll be right back." I grabbed my clothes and went to the bathroom to change. When I came back, he was still there. I started to put on my sneakers.

"Where are you going? Isn't it Saturday?"

"That paper's due on Monday. I gotta head down to the library." I tied my shoes and looked back at him. "Come along?"

"Huh?"

"I asked if you wanted to come with me to the library so I can look up these guys." I showed him the journal. Demyx yawned and stretched.

"Sure. Why not?" I grinned in appreciation and I went downstairs. I scarfed down a piece of toast, said goodbye to my mom, and started off to the library. It was early-ish in the morning, so not very many people were out and about, so I could walk and talk with Demyx easily.

"Things sure have changed." He said, looking around.

"Anything you can point out?" I asked. He looked around, and pointed at something.

"That babershop there was a general store." He said. I looked at the small barbershop and tried to imagine it as a general store.

"Over there," he pointed at a gym, "that was the barbershop." I smirked.

"What is _that_?" He pointed at a place in the bad side of town.

"Not good." I replied instantly, seeing it.

"But what _is_ it?" He asked.

I sighed. "A strip joint."

His eyes widened. "But… but… that was the flower shop!" Now my eyes widened. Then, I burst into laughter, Demyx right along with me. Once again, I was thankful no one was out.

When we finally made it to the library, I had laughed a few times and I had tried to imagine the town as it had once been. Demyx said he'd try to draw it for me, which I thought would be cool. So, when we got there, the librarian, a tall, muscular man with brown hair and blue eyes, directed me to the archives.

Down there were two people, two women, it looked like. One had chin length blonde hair with two strands styled into antennae. Her eyes were a pretty teal shade. The other had shoulder length pink hair and baby blue eyes.

The pinked hair woman turned to me, and I realized, blushing lightly, that 'she' was a guy. Oops. "How can we help you?"

"I'm working on a research paper and I'd like to look up some family trees."

"Ah, that civil war assignment my daughters got too." He smiled. "Larxene, come over here!" he turned back to me. "To introduce us, I'm Marluxia Farron and this is my wife, Larxene."

"Farron?" I asked, looking at the journal again.

"Yes. What about it?"

"That's one of the names I was looking up."

"Ah. I see. Who were you looking up?"

"Lightning Farron." I replied. They nodded, and Larxene saw the journal. "What's that?"

"I found it in the attic of my old house. It belonged to someone named Myde Villiers and it talked about when his father and several of his father's friends were fighting and were almost killed by a South spy."

"Ah, yes. I know the tale. You see, later, Lightning had a son."

"Who was the father?"

"She never said. But she was my great-great grandmother." I scribbled the information on a blank page in the journal.

"Do you have any kids?"

"Yes. Triplets. Xion, Hikari, and Namine."

"Oh. I know them. Well, my brother does."

"So _you're_ Seirei." I nodded.

"All right. What about Hope and Vanille Esthiem?"

"They got married, had some children, and they have great-great-great grandchildren, Axel and Kairi Esthiem." And it went on like that, and I learned that Sora Leonhart was Dajh Katzroy's adoptive great-great grandson, Riku Fair was Fang Oerba's great-great-great grandson along with a young man named Zexion Valentine, who was Riku's cousin. After I was done, I thanked Marluxia and Larxene for their help and started home.

People were starting to get out and about by this time, so I kept my voice very soft. "How is it? You're not talking."

"Mom and Dad didn't have anymore kids, and Mom died three months after me. It kind of stings."

"It's bittersweet, I agree. But what if you didn't know?" I asked. "That's worse."

"Yeah, well, hurry home and finish that paper. I'll catch you later." And he faded away before I could say anything. I shrugged and started off back home.

* * *

><p><em>(AN: Next chapter, we'll get to see the Farron household, which means AkuShi. Please read and review. They make me happy and want to update faster.<br>Love,_

_Destiny.)_


	4. The Paranormal Hotspot

_**Chapter Four: The Paranormal Hotspot**_

I bit my lip as I looked at the paper in front of me again. _Agh! No! I cannot get his eyes right! I don't have the right shade. Bright electric blue with the slightest hint of green and agh! How am I supposed to get the shape of his face right? His eyes are bad enough, but the shape is impossible to draw!_

All these thoughts passed by in a mater of seconds as I looked at the drawing. It annoyed me, how perfect he was. How impossible he was to draw. I sighed and set the paper back down on my desk as someone knocked on the door.

"Come in!" I call, massaging my temples.

In walks Xion. "Nami? Are you okay? I can practically _taste_ the frustration you're venting off." Oh, yeah. Cool fact about me and my sisters. We're psychic. We can sense spiritual energy around us, and we can read minds of people that we're either touching or have eye contact with. I must've been pretty frustrated if my sister, whose room was on the other side of the house, could feel my energy. And, at that moment, Hikari came in.

"You okay, Namine?"

"I'm fine."

At that moment, the doorbell rang, and Xion and Hikari dashed for the door. I walked over. When Xion opened the door, two guys came in. One was a freshman in college. He was about our height despite the age difference. He had bluish-purple hair that was styled so it covered his right eye, which was bright blue. The other guy was a junior in college. He, for one, was considerably taller than all of us, and he had bright, flame-red hair slicked back into spikes, and his eyes were a bright emerald green.

"Zexion!" Hikari jumped onto the boy, who seemed surprised at first, but welcomed the greeting.

"Axel!" Axel and Xion had been going out longer than Zexion and Hikari. Axel was the one who introduced him to Hikari. Mom and Dad weren't sure about the age difference at first, they were six years apart, but they soon accepted their relationship. After all, Axel brought Xion back to life.

I probably should explain. We had discovered our psychic powers at the age of eleven and we told all our friends. They didn't believe us, labeled us freaks, and everyone avoided us like the plague. I didn't really take it hard, since I was a bit of a sociopath. My drawing distracted me.

Hikari, although losing practically all of her friends, drew closer to me. We could bring comfort to each other easily. Plus, that was when she met a new friend. And though her new friend didn't believe us, she was there and supported us.

For Xion, however, things went downhill. She had been a popular kid, and then she was kicked out, left alone, basically to rot. We tried to help her, but we couldn't bring her out of an ever-growing abyss of depression. That's when we moved to Tahlequah, this town.

We went to the school here, looking for a fresh start. And we found it. We met Sora Leonhart, Riku Fair, and Kairi Esthiem, who became our friends.

Except for Xion. As soon as we moved up here, she started wearing black hoodies over everything and always had her hood up. Compared to her, I was the most talkative person in the world. She gave a new meaning to sociopath.

And then the trio came over one night to have dinner with us and meet our parents. Kairi's older brother, Axel, came over too, and that's when he met Xion. Axel had introduced himself, and cracked jokes throughout the meal. And for the first time in about three months, Xion put her hood down. The spiritual energy she emitted was much lighter than it had been.

So we would hang out with those four, and Axel told us that he and his friend Zexion were paranormal investigators. That's when Xion, yes Xion, told them that we were psychics. When they asked us to go into detail, Xion explained the basics of our powers. Naturally, Axel wanted to test it. So Xion asked if she could read his mind.

Well, Axel decided to see. He asked her to tell him what number he was thinking of. Xion told him she couldn't answer that, and just as we were getting skeptic looks from our friends, Xion said he was thinking about campfires and roasted marshmallows.

There wasn't doubt after that. Xion never wore her hood up unless the weather called for it, and we joined in with Axel and Zexion as paranormal investigators. Sora, Riku, and Kairi help we it's needed as well. Not long after become paranormal investigators, Xion and Axel started dating, and I knew they were truly happy. I was happy for them.

Xion grinned and wrapped her arms around him, and he tipped her head up and kissed her. Hikari took this as a good idea and kissed an unsuspecting Zexion, who almost fell over in surprise. After the greetings were done, they asked if we wanted to do some more paranormal work. However, there was a catch. There's always a catch. But of course, we had no trouble with it.

So they came in and greeted Mom and Dad. They were also paranormal investigators, just in case we went past curfew and we were still out and investigating. It happens a lot.

"Hello, Marluxia. Hello, Larxene." Axel greeted. Mom and Dad like Axel and Zexion to call them by their first names.

"To what do we owe this visit to?" Dad asked.

Axel smiled and pulled out a laptop. "We've got a case." He turned it on. "You ready?" He asked. We nodded, and I wondered. What was it about this time?

* * *

><p>I looked at the laptop that sat there on the table, my fingers hovering over the keys. Xion had her hands on my arms, looking over my shoulder. Zexion came to sit next to me, currently getting a shoulder massage from Hikari. The triplets must be the goddesses of massages. Anyway, Namine, Marluxia, and Larxene, were standing in the gap between me and Zexion. I clicked a PowerPoint and it popped up. A picture of a beautiful mansion appeared on the first slide.<p>

"This is the site." I said. "It's a serious paranormal hotspot."

"That thing's huge!" Xion gasped.

"I know. This is Raines Mansion. He lived in Tahlequah in the civil war era. He was a huge entrepreneur and was very successful. He was a hunter too. Had a wife once, though the name's lost to time. Not even newspapers say it. He had three kids too. Anyways, signed up for the North, fought for them, but he turned traitor and became a spy for the South."

"Anything else?" Larxene asked.

"Yeah." Zexion said. "All kids died fairly young. We don't know their names or ages of death, but one died of typhoid pneumonia, another got hit by a car and was killed on impact, the last was shot in a shoot-and-run.

"Yikes." Namine said.

"Yikes indeed." I agreed. "Also, his house was used, supposedly, to hold Southerners and spies throughout the civil war. There have been many deaths there, and so there are multiple sightings of several spirits. They want us to investigate."

"Well, that doesn't seem too bad." Xion said.

"One problem." Zexion said. "We don't have enough people to investigate."

"So, just have Axel get his sister and her friends to come."

"We are." I said. "It's still not enough. A few more people will do it."

"What about Roxas?" Namine asked. I was about to ask who, but Xion and Hikari nodded.

"Yeah. Wonder if they'd help." Xion said.

"Well, his sister believes in ghosts, and I don't see harm in asking." Hikari said. No one asked where she got this information. It was obvious that she had read her mind.

"Who?"

"Roxas Strife. He has a sister named-"

"Seirei Strife. Right?" Marluxia answered.

Three sets of eyes turned to stare at their father. "How did you know that, Dad?" Namine asked.

"Met her at the library." He replied.

Xion shrugged it off. "Would two extra people be enough?" She asked me.

I nodded. "That's perfect."

Namine took out her cell phone from her pocket. "I'll give him a call right now." She said and left the room. I turned off my laptop and put it away.

"We'll make a plan of attack when we get there." I said. "That way Roxas and Seirei can be in on it."

Namine came back in. "They'll be there!" She declared. "Tomorrow?"

Zexion nodded. "Tomorrow." Namine repeated the word, said goodbye, and hung up.

"We've got new investigators!" She said. Xion and Hikari grinned. I was kind of surprised. I hadn't expected Namine, being somewhat of a sociopath, to have a cell. Oh, well. Can't judge a book by its cover.

I stood up and put my laptop bag over my shoulder. "Well, that's all we came here for. We'd best be off."

"It was nice seeing you again, Axel." Larxene said.

"You too, Mr. and Mrs. F." I said. They grinned, and I turned to Xion.

"See you tomorrow night." I said, placed a kiss on her forehead, and me and Zexion went off as soon as Zexion said his goodbyes. So, we went back to our dorm, not knowing what would be coming next.

* * *

><p>Roxas getting a call from a <em>girl<em>? It's unimaginable! Anyways, it was Namine Farron, and they were going to be doing an investigation at a mansion and they needed our help. I was cool with it, and so was Roxas. Mom and Dad didn't care as long as there were adults, which there would be.

Roxas was sitting on my bed as I printed out my paper. "So, Sis? It's ready?"

"Yep. Ready for bed?" He nodded sleepily and stumbled over to his room, with me following. He crawled in bed and I tucked him in. If we were roommates and there were others too, I think we would still keep this tradition. I kissed his forehead and went back into my room to see someone else sitting on my bed.

"Hello, Demyx." I said as I turned off my laptop.

"Hello, Seirei." He greeted me. Earlier today, while we were having a family breakfast, he had gone into a coughing fit. No one else seemed to hear, so I pretended I didn't either. "Are you going to bed already?"

"School." I reminded him.

"But even when you go to school you've never gone to bed this late."

"Some of Roxas's friends who are paranormal investigators need our help."

"Who?" He asked.

I sighed. I had forgotten that had died just after the civil war. "We are going to help people that try to find ghosts." I explained.

"Oh." He said as I climbed into bed and pulled the covers over myself. "Well, be careful. My world is full of people who enjoy to cause mischief and injury."

"I'll be careful." I assured him as he reclined to lie next to me. By morning he would be snuggled against me, asleep. (And yes, ghosts _can_ sleep.)

"Okay. If the spirit is too aggressive for you guys to handle. Just call me." He told me.

"How?" I asked.

"Just say or think, 'Demyx, help me,' and I'll be over there in a jiffy." He explained. I realized I was falling asleep.

"Could you get the lights?" With a wave of Demyx's hand, the room filled with darkness. "Thanks." And I let myself fall into the comfort of sleep.

* * *

><p><em>(AN: Yay! AkuShi! And hints of other pairings. Also, there's a <em>big_ hint at something _pretty_ important. Cookies if you find it. And please more reviews! I really like them and they help inspire me to keep this up._

_Love,_

_Destiny.)_

_**Next Chapter…**_

"_These are Axel and Zexion. Our boyfriends."_

"_I sense high unease and restlessness from the spirits. They are frightened."_

"_Roxas? Where are you?"_

"_My name is Abigail. Please. Help me."_

"_Strange spirit. Something's not right."_

"_Demons sleep here."_


	5. A Mansion of Danger

_**Chapter Five: A Mansion of Danger**_

I stepped out of the car, Roxas by my side. Mom waved goodbye and drove off, leaving us there. Yeah, Mom trusts pretty much anyone. She's like that. Then, I saw Kairi and quickly walked over to her.

"Hey, Kairi." I said. Kairi nearly jumped out of her seat.

"You Seirei and Roxas?" Someone came up. He had red hair like fire that was spiked and bright green eyes. I nodded. "Name's Axel." He put a finger against his temple. "Got it memorized?"

"Uh…" Roxas probably couldn't say anything, he was shocked. The kid gets scared easily. Don't blame him.

"Forgive him. My brother's an idiot. He can't control himself." Kairi huffed slightly. Axel was about to retort, when some called over to us.

"Hey, you four! Get over here! We need to plan." We walked over there to see a young man with blue-purple hair and blue eyes. His hair was covering his right eye. He was holding a book in one hand, and a camcorder in the other. Along with him were Xion, Naminé, Hikari, Sora, Riku, and Yuffie.

We were introduced, and then the blue-haired boy introduced himself as Zexion. Xion, Naminé, and Hikari were sitting in the trunk of a van that had been emptied and ghost-hunting equipment was scattered around. All three girls had their eyes closed, heads bowed, and were focusing hard.

"What are they doing?" I asked Kairi.

"They're psychic. They're trying to find what emotions the 'spirits' are feeling right now."

Then, Xion spoke. "I sense high unease and restlessness from the spirits. They are frightened."

"By us?" Zexion asked.

Hikari shook her head. "No. From something much more… supernatural."

Xion and Hikari raised their heads and opened their eyes, but Naminé remained stationary. "Nami?" Xion asked.

"Not just fear and anxiety." Naminé murmured. "Darkness. Pure darkness. It's strong, almost overpowering. There is but one solution." She opened her eyes, looking at everyone around her. "Demons sleep here." Then, as if she hadn't just dropped a bomb, she leapt down and towards the nearest piece of equipment. "Shall we set up?"

I went over to Hikari and Xion. "What was that about?"

"Demons reside in this house. That's what Naminé said. She has a higher level of sensitivity. I trust her." Hikari said.

"By the way, have you met?" She asked, gesturing to Axel and Zexion. "These are Axel and Zexion, our boyfriends."

"We've met. While you guys were focusing."

"Ah. Well, come on so we can set up." They walked off. I was about to follow, when I felt a chill around my shoulders, and the feeling of someone grabbing my hand.

"_What _are you doing _here?_" I turned my head slightly to see a familiar face. He had my hand in a tight grip and didn't look like he was going to be letting go anytime soon. I rolled my eyes.

"Why are you flipping out?" I asked.

Demyx looked me right in the eye, and I could see concern masking slight anger. "Do you _know_ who owned this house?"

"Oh, like you do." I huffed.

"I do!" He protested.

"Well, let me ask." Demyx let go of my hand, and I went over to Zexion. "Hey, Zexion," Zexion looked over at me, "what is this place called?"

"Raines Mansion." I felt myself paling. Raines? Zexion looked closer at me in the fading twilight. He seemed a bit concerned. "Are you all right? You seem a bit pale."

I shook my head slightly and calmed myself. "I'm fine." I went to grab a camera.

"Take that to the second floor, third room on the right. Call me so we can position it." Zexion called at me. He quickly riddled off his cell number, which I punched into my address book.

"Okay." I said and walked in with the camera. When no one was around, I gritted my teeth. "All right, I see why you don't like it here." I hissed softly. "But why nervous about _me?_"

Demyx sighed in annoyance. "What? I can't be worried about a friend?"

"I thought we were acquaintances."

"Either way, I have no idea what could be in here. You heard that girl. Demons lurk here."

"You're serious?"

"I can smell them. They really stink. I can't believe you living people can't smell it." Demyx answered. "Who knows what they'd do to any of you."

"Well, why don't you stick around, then?"

"Huh?" Demyx asked.

"If you're so worried, stick around and play bodyguard." I had reached the first room and I flipped open my cell phone and called Zexion. Out of the corner of my eye, Demyx faded from my sight, but I could tell he was still near me.

"Hello?" Zexion asked.

"It's Seirei. What do you want me to do?"

"Turn the camera on." I did. There was silence for a bit, and then Zexion said. "Put the tripod in the corner next to the dresser." I set up the tripod and set the camera on it. "To the left a bit." I adjusted the camera. "That's good. Get back down here." I went down to where the others were. I saw Roxas bouncing with excitement.

"All right." Axel said. "Xion, Hikari, and I will take the basement. Riku and Yuffie will take the first floor. Sora and Kairi take the second floor. Seirei, Roxas, and Naminé will take the attic. Zexion, Marluxia, and Larxene will be monitoring and backup.

"All right, move out. Keep your cells on. And punch in everyone's numbers." After all the numbers were in my cell phone, I led my team up to the basement. I know, I probably should have let Naminé, but she looked nervous and scared and motioned for me to go ahead, and Roxas wasn't about to lead, so I took charge.

I kept feeling Demyx's presence, though I couldn't see him. I figured that he was right next to me, since the chill was on my right side, and on my left side was the natural autumn temperature.

We went up to the attic. I had a camcorder, Roxas had an audio recorder to find what the team called EVPs, and Naminé had nothing. We did a quick sweep of the area, and Naminé suggested we do an EVP session.

She took the audio recorder from Roxas, and turned it on. "Raines Mansion, Naminé, Roxas, Seirei, attic," She said to it to document where we were. She checked her watch. "Nine twenty-three p.m." She finished and set the recorder on the ground.

"Is anyone here with us?" She asked. Supposedly, some ghost's voices were too soft to hear with our own ears, but could be recorded on electronic equipment.

Then, to our surprise, a soft voice was heard. "Yes." Roxas nearly jumped out of his skin, but I managed to stay calm.

"Hello? Who are you?" Then, I felt someone kneel by me.

"I'm going to go check on the other teams. I'll be right back." Demyx whispered, and I could feel he was gone, but the other presence wasn't.

"My name is Abigail." The voice from earlier, which I realized was young and female, said. "Please. Help me."

"D-did you die h-here?" Roxas asked. He was obviously still nervous, but seeing that most of the time when he got scared he was paralyzed until he couldn't move, talking meant that he was trying to be brave.

"Yes."

"Can you show yourself?" Naminé asked, and instantly, I felt the temperature drop. It had been seventy earlier. I looked at my watch, which had a handy thermometer. Sixty, fifty-five, fifty… and when the temperature stopped dropping, I looked up. There was a semi-transparent young girl standing in front of us.

Roxas stiffened, and I wrapped my arm around his shoulders to comfort him, and then looked at the girl. She had slightly curled black hair that fell to her shoulders, ice-blue eyes that glinted like cats' eyes. She was wearing a small informal white dress and her feet were bare. In her eyes were crystal-like tears.

"Please… help me…" and then, with a scream, she was gone. An aura of darkness suddenly weighed down the air. Naminé's cell phone rang. She put it on speakerphone.

"Naminé, did you hear that scream?" Axel asked.

We stood up, Roxas clinging to me. "Yeah, we did, Axel." I said. "A ghost made an apparition, spoke to us, asked us to help, screamed, and vanished." I wrapped my arms around Roxas comfortingly.

"Come down to command central. Did you record it?"

"The whole thing." I answered.

"Then we should see and hear it. Hurry down."

I led the way down. Roxas had distanced himself from me, but not by much. The dark presence still hadn't lifted, and I saw that Naminé seemed nervous too. When we got to command central, everyone was waiting for us.

Roxas handed the recorder to Zexion, and he rewound it and put it on play. We heard the conversation, then the scream. After we looked through it, we heard another scream. I ran in with the others at my heels, and looked around.

"Nothing." I sighed. We started outside, when I heard a slight shudder, as if something heavy was shifting. I stopped and looked around, and just moments later, I felt a chill as something crashed into me, knocking me down. A second later, I heard a loud crash! What was it?

"Sis?" Roxas called, and I managed to push myself into a sitting position. I gasped when I saw it. A large piano had fallen. At first I thought about how cartoon cliché that was, a piano falling, but then I realized that that was where I had been standing. And if that had hit me, I would be dead.

"Are you okay?" I sighed in relief. Demyx. He had saved me.

"I'm all right." I said, answering both Roxas and Demyx. Roxas helped me stand, and the others looked at me nervously.

"We probably shouldn't stay." Xion said. "I sense it too. There are demons nearby."

Naminé nodded. "There's a strange spirit. Something's not right."

"Gather the equipment and let's go." Zexion said.

I went to the attic to get the cameras. "The demon's gone." Demyx said.

"It is?" I asked softly.

"For now. Who knows what it'll do next time, though. They tend to get very violent. It's not usually safe."

I nodded. "We're pulling out, you know."

"I know, I know." I carried the stuff back downstairs.

"We'll go through all the evidence tomorrow, 'kay?" Axel said.

"We'll meet at the house." Marluxia added. Everyone nodded, and we left. The Farrons took me and Roxas home, and when we got upstairs, Roxas asked if he could sleep with me that night.

I let him, of course. What would you expect? I'm not heartless. He crawled into my bed and snuggled against me and fell asleep. I gently stroked his hair as he fell asleep, and soon I was dropping off myself, wondering what else we could find.

_(AN: I would _really _like it if more people than jcthegirl would review. (Not that I don't like your reviews, Jordan!) But, either way, here's chapter five! And this isn't the last of Raines Mansion. They're gonna be going back there quite a bit! Repasos, por favor._

_ Love,_

_ Destiny.)_


	6. Demons

_ (AN:(Jcthegirl: Hey, Jordan. And to answer your questions in order: Seirei talks _really_ quiet when she wants to, and yes, I'm confusing you as revenge for what you did to Axel, but I'll be nice this once and start putting who's POV. Enjoy.))_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six: Demons<strong>

_Seirei's POV_

I had nightmares again. I've always had nightmares whenever I sleep. People dream. I have nightmares. I never remember them except for a few words that make no sense. I need you.

Anyways, when I woke up, (Roxas managed to sleep through my whimpering and kicking) I nudged my twin awake, and we did our morning routine. I brushed through my hair and put on my clothes as Roxas took his morning shower. I waited for him in my room. And as I sat down, Demyx decided to make his appearance.

"You were having nightmares." He said. I quickly turned my head to see him leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He uncrossed his arms and sat down on my bed beside me.

I shrugged. "It's just like always. My dream patterns are the opposite of others, usually." I told him.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, most people have dreams with the occasional nightmare tossed in. I have nightmares with an occasional dream. But I haven't had that many nightmares since coming here."

"It might be because it's so calming." Demyx suggested.

"Yeah. Maybe." I said. "So, we're gonna be heading to the Farrons' house to see if there's any other EVPs or anything on the cameras. Wanna come?" Demyx nodded. "Good. When Rox-" I stopped talking because I heard Roxas's footsteps (he can be rather loud sometimes) as he came up to my room and opened the door.

"Sis? Why is it so chilly in here?" He asked, and I noticed the goose bumps on his arms. I shrugged.

"Ready to go?" I asked, standing up. He nodded, and we went downstairs, each grabbing a Pop Tart.

"Mom, we're going to our friend's house!" I called.

"Be back by four!" Mom called back.

"We will!" Roxas yelled as I ushered him out the door. Then, we both went to the garage and grabbed our motorbikes. Yeah. We have motorbikes. So does our dad, but he has a Fenrir. Ours aren't that great. Mine was an older motorbike that was painted sunshine yellow, but the paint was peeling off. The seat was torn in places and the grips were coming off, but it served its purpose.

Roxas's looked a lot like mine, except that it had been bright red. The sun had bleached the color into pink. He begged me to trade with him, but there was no way I would trade my great bike.

We strapped on our helmets, and zoomed off. I led the way to the Farrons', using the GPS I had bought a few months ago. When we pulled up to the Farrons', I saw Axel standing outside. His jaw dropped.

"Whoa." He gaped. "You have bikes?"

"Our dad taught us how to ride. His is waaay better, though." Roxas explained.

"Uh, why is yours pink?"

Roxas blushed. "It was red…" he mumbled, looking at his feet. "…and it faded…"

I quickly interjected. "So, are we going to go in?" I asked. Axel then flushed red, as if he had forgotten. He probably had.

"Come on in." We went inside. The whole gang that had been at the mansion was there. I went over to Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Yuffie at once, and Roxas went over to the triplets. Axel, Zexion, Marluxia, and Larxene were sitting at the table in the center of the room.

"All right. Let's see what Xion, I, and Hikari found." Axel said, and flicked a switch. For several minutes, there was static, shuffling of footsteps that belonged to the trio, and their normal questions. I was starting to fall asleep, when a rough, gravelly, deep voice appeared.

"What could you do to stop me?" The voice hissed. I felt a familiar cold hand clasp my arm. Right as the voice registered, I felt dizzy. And I collapsed against the couch with one word.

"Dad…dy…"

* * *

><p><em>Roxas POV<em>

"Dad…dy…" Our eyes, which were already on Seirei, widened when the word was spoken.

"Seirei?" I asked tentatively. "Sis?" She was completely still.

Naminé, Xion, and Hikari all shot their heads up at once. "That was a demon's voice. Most likely the one that attempted to take Seirei's life." Hikari said calmly, but she was slightly trembling. I dashed over to Seirei's still form, and when I reached there, I gasped. It was… cold. Ice cold.

"Roxas?" Zexion asked. "What is it?"

"It's cold around here. And I have the feeling that someone is watching me." I replied, and Axel instantly came over, and checked the temperature.

"Forty-seven degrees." Axel said, and everyone was a little uneasy. We left Seirei on the couch. (I know, it's cruel. But we were freaking out.) And we went through the rest of the evidence. Unfortunately, all we really had was the personal experiences, our EVP session from the attic, and that EVP with the man's voice. It scared me, especially how Sis reacted.

I was mulling over these things, when I heard a light groan. I looked over to see Seirei's eyes opening. I ran back over to her, first noticing that the temperature was normal.

"Sis?" I asked, getting the others' attention. "Are you okay?"

She groaned again and sat up. "I think so."

"What's the last thing you remember?" Marluxia asked, looking over at her from the kitchen.

Seirei mulled it over a bit. "The word 'daddy.'" She answered, and my blood ran cold. I looked at my watch.

"Well, it's almost three forty-five, so Sis and I better get going." I said. The others bade us farewell, and we left on our bikes. I hate that mine's pink. Note to self: get it repainted.

When we got home two minutes before four, Mom came over and gave us a crushing hug and let us go our way. I decided I didn't want anything else to do with the ghost hunting stuff. Not after what happened to Sis. I wouldn't have any more to do with it, even if it meant giving up seeing Naminé.

* * *

><p><em>Seirei's POV<em>

I awoke around midnight. I didn't know why at the time. I didn't have to pee or anything, I was just awake. Then, I felt something grab hold of my ankles and started dragging me from my bed. I opened my mouth, but what felt like a powerful hand clamped over my mouth. I could feel the skin bruise beneath the touch.

I grabbed the board of the bed and refused to let go. No. Not now! I could feel blood welling up around my feet, and I screamed into the palm around my face. In response, it tightened. My fear grew. What was happening?

I felt whatever it was let go of my ankle and moved to my waist and yanked. I literally lost all self-control and bravery I had left. I screamed as loud as I could, but no one came. I was feeling hopeless as I was thrown onto the floor, my ankle still bleeding.

Then, one thought came to mind. A former memory.

_"If a spirit is too aggressive for you to handle, just call me."_ I hoped now was okay too. _DEMYX, HELP ME! _I screamed in my head. When nothing happened, I gave up. I felt the hands tighten, making me bruise and bleed.

"What's going on?" Suddenly, whatever it was vanished. I looked up timidly to face the one that had perhaps just saved my life, and started crying my eyes out. "It's okay." Demyx wrapped his arms around me, "you're safe now. I'm sorry." I whimpered while thinking of a way to explain myself to my parents when I had no clue either, when he gently pulled me back on my bed.

"Could you hold still?" He gently pressed his palm to my forehead, and a cool, comforting sensation ran through my entire body. When I looked at myself again, I noticed that the cuts and bruises were gone. Demyx plopped down next to me, wiping his forehead. "Wow. Haven't done something like that in a while." He put his arms behind his head, and motioned to me to lie down. I did, and without realizing it at first, scooted over towards him and snuggled against him.

"I didn't know you could do that." I said.

He shrugged. "I can, but depending on the extent of the injuries, I could end up draining my spiritual life, and I'd fade to nothing and go on to whatever lies after here." He said. I was slightly shocked.

"And you'd do that for me." I clarified.

"Yep." Demyx replied. Then, as if he hadn't just dropped a bombshell, he turned to me with an obviously forced smile. "You can fall asleep whenever. I promise nothing will touch you again."

I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "Okay." We talked for a while, and slowly I began to drop off, but only because Demyx was by my side, and I trusted him. And then, I was asleep. But the last thing on my mind was, _What did it want?_

* * *

><p><em>(AN: And there's my next chapter! Like it? Hate it? Tell me, please! Drop a review if it's not too much trouble. I love hearing from you guys. See you later!<em>

_Love,_

_Destiny.)_


	7. The Darkness Within

_**Chapter Seven: The Darkness Within**_

_Seirei's POV_

I woke up the next morning snuggled against Demyx, like usual. I smiled to myself and gently pried his arms off of me. I slid out of bed, and over to the door, pleased with myself that I had managed to get out without waking him.

I left my room, clothes in hand, and went over to the bathroom to change. As I stepped inside, I noticed the air seemed thick and heavy. I quickly changed, when I felt something clamp around my face. I felt was seemed to be fingers dig into my cheek, and I was starting to freak out again.

"Sis? You're up all ready?" The presence lifted and I quickly moved to the mirror to see a huge welt on my cheek.

"Yeah. I am." I called back. I quickly parted my hair to the side and covered the welt. I brushed my fingers over it, and made a decision. I needed to talk to someone. I exited the bathroom and went downstairs.

"Mom, I'm going to a friend's house!" I called and exited the house. I got on my bike and left quickly.

* * *

><p><em>Naminé's POV<em>

I wasn't expecting the doorbell to ring. Mom and Dad were at work already, leaving us kids here alone. I quickly scanned the energy outside, and found Seirei's normal signature. But there was panic.

I went over to the door and opened it, and Seirei was there. Her bike was parked in the driveway, and her helmet was on its handlebar. Then, I saw her cheek. There was a huge welt on it.

"Seirei? What happened?" I gasped. She looked up at me, and I could see that it was hurting her.

"I… I don't know…" she said. "Something attacked me." I quickly pulled her in, noticing that my sisters had congregated in the living room, probably sensing the fear Seirei was putting out.

"Well, could you explain?"

"I was in the bathroom… and something grabbed my face and waist, and practically attacked me. I wasn't hurt _too_ bad because Roxas interrupted."

I quickly reached towards her cheek and touched the welt gingerly. Seirei winced.

"Sister," Hikari said, "a demon?"

"It must be." I replied. "Seirei, we have the suspicion that a demon resides in your house. Or followed you home, one or the other. Either way, that's not good."

"What do I do?" Seirei asked.

"You have to tell your parents."

"But they don't believe in ghosts! Dad'll flip out, thinking that someone harmed his 'baby girl' and throw a random guy off the street in jail!"

"What?" Xion asked.

"Dad's just like that. But what do I do, other than telling Mom and Dad?"

I bit my lip, something the three of us do when we're thinking hard. "I'm not sure. Has it happened to Roxas?"

"No, I don't think so." Seirei replied, and I found myself sighing in relief. Seirei quirked an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. What was that from?

"Well, maybe it was just passing through and decided to wreak a little havoc." Hikari suggested. "If it gets worse, you have to tell us."

"I will, don't worry." Seirei promised. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Be careful." I told her as she started towards the door.

"I will." She promised, and left.

My sisters turned to me. "Nami?" Xion asked.

"What?"

"You like Roxas." Hikari said. It wasn't a question.

I felt my face turn red. "Maybe. I'm not sure… this is so confusing." I changed the subject. "But, guys," I said, "when she was leaving she was thinking about someone named 'Demyx'."

"Who's Demyx?" Xion asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I only caught a whisper of the name."

Hikari bit her lip. "The name doesn't sound familiar."

"I guess we can ask." I suggested.

"Or read her mind." Xion added. We just had to wait until tomorrow.

* * *

><p><em>Roxas's POV<em>

When Sis got home, she didn't look well at all. She looked scared, to say the least.  
>"Sis?" I asked. She turned to face me, and I saw a huge welt on her cheek. My eyes bugged out and my jaw dropped. "What happened to you?"<p>

Seirei shook her head, obviously asking me to drop the subject, but she's my twin! I have a right to be worried. "Sis, just tell me." Seirei shook her head, as if she didn't trust her voice.

She started to walk away, and I grabbed her arm. "Seirei." She stood still, completely silent for a bit. Then reached back with her other hand and dug her fingernails into my flesh. I bit back a yelp, and drew back.

Seirei bore her eyes into mine angrily. "Thank you." She hissed, and went back to her room. My jaw dropped.

"Sis?" I squeaked after she went into her room. I covered the place she scratched with my hand. "Why did you do that?"

"I think something's wrong with Seirei." I told Mom and Dad after Seirei went up to bed. It was obvious she wasn't going to tuck me in like she always did.

Dad didn't look up from his food. "Are you sure it's not-"

"No, it's not her period." Dad's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, one of the few times I've ever seen him show emotion.

"She tells you when..."

"Yeah, actually. She does. We're twins. We don't hide _anything_ from each other."

It went on like that for a while until Mom and Dad figured it was just a mood swing. I sighed and went to my room, doing the only thing I could think of: calling Naminé. I quickly told her what was wrong.

"Well, we think that she might have a demon following her."

"That's where the welt came from?" I asked.

"Yeah." She replied. "She's most likely scared. Can you come over tomorrow evening so we can discuss it more? The rest of the team'll be there, but I don't think we should invite Seirei. She might get nervous."

I nodded, and then remembered that she couldn't see me. "Yeah." I said.

"See you tomorrow, then."

"Yeah. See you." I said, and hung up. I stared at the phone for a bit. Something in the pit of my stomach didn't sit right. I wouldn't that Seirei would act like she had just because she's scared. Maybe tomorrow I would be able to convince myself.

* * *

><p>School was a blur. I don't really remember much from that day. I was too nervous about my twin. I was hanging out with our friends after school (Axel and Zexion had come to pick up the triplets) when Axel suddenly gasped, "who has <em>that<em> bike?" I looked up and suddenly, I was excited. In the parking lot was a beautiful motorcycle. A Fenrir.

I quickly tapped Sis's shoulder, and pointed at the bike. Her mouth dropped open as the rider stepped off and removed his helmet to reveal insanely spike blonde hair.

"Dad?" I asked as he came over. Axel was gawking. "You came to pick us up?"

"I got off work early, and decided to get you two. Are you unhappy?"

"No way!" Seirei exclaimed, squealing. "We're riding the Fenrir!"

"Say bye to you're friends." Dad told us.

"Bye guys!" Seirei said.

"See you later, Naminé." I said, and the three of us left, Axel still gaping at the bike. Seirei climbed on behind Dad, setting a helmet on her head, and I sat behind her, strapping on my own helmet. As Dad started off, I wrapped my arms around my sister's waist instinctively. She reached a hand back and gently rubbed a shoulder, then focused on keep a hold of Dad.

It seemed normal. Maybe it was just mood swings Seirei was going through. But then, I remembered how she had hurt me. She never did that. We pulled into the driveway, and I grabbed my own bike.

"Where are you going, Roxas?" Dad asked.

"Naminé asked me to come over." I replied.

"Ah. Saying hello to your _girlfriend_?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" I protested. Seirei just smirked and went inside. Dad hung up his helmet and followed her. I turned on my bike, and started to the Farrons' house.

* * *

><p><em>Demyx's POV<em>

It was rather late when Seirei came inside the room, dressed in pajamas and looking worn. She collapsed on the bed, face first; most likely exhausted.

"Seirei?" I asked. She jumped and turned to me, and I noticed the welt on her cheek instantly. "Seirei! Where did you get that?"

"Yesterday morning… I was attacked again." She answered.

"Do you want me to heal it for you?"

She shook her head. "Everyone's seen it." I nodded. Remain inconspicuous.

"Are you okay though? It must be a demon following you."

"I know. Naminé told me."

"Naminé?"

"The blonde girl that sensed the demons at Raines Manor."

"Oh. Her."

"Yeah, Roxas went over to her house. Who knows why?" I knew. I had heard Roxas talking with someone, Naminé, probably, about meeting up with 'everyone else'. Although Seirei was a friend, I decided not to tell her, so I just shrugged.

"Well, I'm getting some sleep." Seirei said into her pillow.

"So early?" I asked, rubbing her back. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine." Seirei mumbled.

"Sei-"

"Leave me alone."

I moved my hand to rest against her cheek. "But you-"

"Don't touch me, you dead freak!" Seirei hissed, turning her head to look at me. Pure frustration and hate filled her gaze, and I instantly backed up, and faded away from her. Oh, my gosh. Now I understood. I quickly faded to the first place I knew to go.

* * *

><p><em>Naminé's POV<em>

I felt a strange feeling, and I quickly stood up. Hikari, who had been speaking, looked over at me. "Sister?" She asked.

I just looked over at the nearby wall, where I saw someone. Dirty blonde hair styled in a mullet, semi-pale skin, and was wearing a unzipped stonewash hoodie, black t-shirt, and jeans. "Who are you?" I asked. All eyes went over to him. He walked forward, and I didn't need my empathy ability to tell he was scared. When he was close enough, I noticed his eye color, sea green, and the fact that he was slightly transparent.

"Demyx." He said, and I instantly remembered hearing the name in Seirei's thoughts. "And I need to tell you something."

Everyone seemed freaked out, especially Roxas, so I asked. "What?"

"Seirei, she's not being followed by a demon." He said. Before I could ask, he continued. "She's being possessed by one."

* * *

><p><em>(AN: Yay! Cliffy! Don't you just love 'em? And along with a new twist! So, what'd you guys think? Drop a review please! Oh, and sorry about not updating. It's a mix of no time and no inspiration. Sorry again, but I hope you liked it!<em>

_Love,_

_Destiny.)_


	8. Ghost Town

_Destiny: Man, I _really_ didn't want to get back to this one. It was written _so_ long ago; my style's changed so much. So, I came to a compromise. I'll finish this story, do a rewrite, and then write the sequel. (And there will only be two stories). So, enjoy for now._

**Chapter Eight: Ghost Town**

_Demyx's POV_

"A way to exor—I mean, remove—a demon's soul from a living body?" I noticed him choke up on the word, just like every ghost did. Nobody knows why, but nobody dead can ever say "exorcise".

But, nevertheless, I nodded. "C'mon. Do you have some idea how I could do that?" I asked.

The other man shrugged. "Sorry, Water Boy. Other than pushing the demonic soul ou—"

I set a glare on him. "Xigbar. You _know_ I'm not doing that."

Xigbar sighed. "Well, other than that and _possibly_ killing your newest catch—"

He was really starting to piss me off. "She's _not_ a new catch—I don't even _do_ stuff like that—and I'm not taking that chance."

"Statistically, Water Boy, it's fifty-fifty."

"Xigbar." I grabbed his arm and stopped him. "I'm not doing that. Anything else?"

Xigbar pulled his arm out of my grasp with a sigh. "Nope. Sorry, Dem. Nothing."

"Wonderful. You don't know, Lex doesn't know, Saïx doesn't know—I think. I asked him and he slammed the door in my face—and Luxord doesn't know. And I'm not asking Xaldin or Vexen."

Xigbar shrugged. "Sorry. You're on your own. Good luck saving what's-her-name, though." He said while walking on down the street. "See you at dinner."

"Her name's Seirei!" I yelled after him and sighed before looking around. I was in a place we called Ghost Town, a city where most ghosts had _some_ form of home. I had three roommates, even though I rarely stayed here. I ran a hand through my hair with a sigh.

_Vexen would probably know. But… do I want to?_ I turned and started walking to the lab. _I _have_ to. _And so I put my hands in my jacket pockets as I strolled down the street, when I felt something. A tug in my heart. And I knew what it was._ Seirei?_ But dutifully I faded to wherever she was.

And the first thing I noticed was that she wasn't there. I was keeping myself invisible so I could find out what was going on, but then I saw all of Seirei's friends and her parents looking white-faced. And then I realized where they were.

"You let her come back here? Do you _know_ this place is crawling with demons?" I shouted, letting myself be visible and tangible and everything else. "Who knows what that thing is doing!"

There were four teenagers and both of Seirei's parents staring at me. "A-a-a ghost." I winced at the word again. It made me seem so far-off, like a different species.

Her brother, Roxas, stepped a bit closer to me. "What are you doing here?"

"Seirei called me, so I came. But I don't—" and that's when I noticed how he was holding his arm, and how the redhead—Axel, I think—was leaning against the wall, gripping his ankle, and the blue-haired boy, Zexion, had blood running down his face from a cut on his forehead. "Oh, crap… what did it _do?_"

"We tried to stop her." Naminé said softly. "She fought back."

"Shoot, shoot, shoot! Where is she?" Without another word, I dropped to the ground on my knees, setting my hand on the floor. "Dance, water. Dance." And I tried to find her. _Come on, she's a bag full of blood. Where is she?_ And then I felt her presence. Wasn't that… _No, no, no, no, no!_ And I got up and began to run. I heard behind me footsteps of Seirei's friends and family, but I _had_ to get to her. Or else… I ran up a few flights of stairs and into a room. And there stood the black-haired, blue-eyed girl that I had befriended. But there was a monster.

She turned and noticed us enter. "Well. Fancy meeting you here…" she raised an eyebrow and grinned. "…Myde."

I tensed, but tried to put on my "dad voice", as Xigbar calls it. "Get out of her. Right now."

"Right now?" Not-Seirei began to pout. "Oh, but Myde, I'm having _so_ much fun."

I began to seethe. "I'm not kidding. If you think I'm kidding, you have a _world_ of pain waiting for you. Now. Get out of her."

"But I was told not to do that." She said. "What to do? What did he say to do if a situation like this came up?" She tapped her chin. "Oh yes. Come right to this room and do this." And suddenly, not-Seirei was starting to scream, grabbing her abdomen. Her lips suddenly became dry and cracked and I could see that she was getting extremely feverish. And my instincts kicked in.

"No!" And, throwing my original vow out the window, I ran at her and pushed through Seirei, grabbing one of the souls and pushing her out, dragging her with me. With enough time to see that yes, I had grabbed the soul of Abigail Raines, a demon, she then transported us both to the ghost universe.

She glared at me, and all previous appearances of a sweet little girl were gone. Abigail was replaced by a monster. It was the typical appearance of a demon: a humanoid figure, but completely black, with sharp, blood-stained claws shooting out from their fingers. The teeth are always needle-sharp and fairly thin and all crammed in there. The eyes are little beads of red.

Abigail screeched and started to slash at me with her claws. I backed up, but—damn the fact I have no balance—I tripped and fell flat on my back. She leapt upon me and her claws tore at my side. Gasping, I pulled my legs up to my chest and kicked out, knocking the demon away. I stood up, out of breath and feeling a roaring pain in my left side. My hands fisted and I ran back towards her, lashing out with a punch to the jaw.

Abigail cried out again and I jumped up, my foot meeting the bottom of her chin in a powerful kick. I then thrust my palm against her chest, adding one last kick for good measure. And tears began to fall from her eyes. "DAAADDYYYYYY!" She yelled, disappearing into darkness for good. I gasped for breath and looked around to guess where I was, and started shuffling for home. Because who knew how bad it looked.

* * *

><p><em>Xigbar's POV<em>

It was my turn to cook. Which meant we were having Chinese takeout for dinner. So, I lounged on the couch while I waited for the food to come while our busybody roommate was typing away at the computer in a frenzy.

"Jeez, Saïx," I said, "can you go any faster?"

"Shut up, Xigbar. You just don't understand."

"I don't really get why you work so hard. We're dead, remember? We only eat regularly because that's what feels nice. You don't have to work. It's not like you're getting paid."

Saïx scoffed. "You just don't understand."

I would've retorted, but the doorbell rang. "Food!" I shouted, and teleported to the door (it's handy when your element's space). But when I opened it, I saw something else. "Demyx?" I gasped, looking all over him. "Christ, Water Boy. What happened to you?" There was a huge slash in his left side. Actually, it wasn't a slash. He had been skinned. A large triangle was missing, revealing his some ribs and part of his lung; you could see him _breathing_! And it went down to his hip, cutting the skin at a straight line between the two points, the other point meeting at his bellybutton.

"Is it that bad?" He asked sheepishly. Without another word, I picked him up and set him on the couch, grabbing a handheld mirror that Gambler kept nearby (Lord knows why). I handed it to Demyx. His eyes went wide when he saw the damage.

"You definitely won't be able to leave Ghost Town for a while. What'd you do?"

"Well, I got the demon soul out and she attacked me. But I destroyed her. Temporarily." He said proudly.

"Well, good thing you're okay."

"Yes, good thing indeed." And our blond British roommate was there. He tsked. "Looks like the Game isn't on your side."

I yelled out, "Luxord! You just made me lose the Game!"

Luxord shook his head. "Well, Demyx, looks you'll be crashing here for once. Ever since that girl came into the picture you haven't been around."

"I know, I know." Demyx said, blushing lightly. "But she sleeps better when I'm there, and—Oh, my gosh! How did I forget?"

"Water Boy?"

"Xigbar, would you do me a big favor?"

"What is it?"

"Would you check up on Seirei? She… I don't know how she is."

How was I supposed to resist that puppy-dog face? "Alright. I'll do it." The doorbell rang. "Right after dinner."

* * *

><p>So, being a man of my word, after a <em>delicious<em> dinner of lo mein, I left for the living world to find out how Demyx's newest crush—he refuses to say it, but I know it's true—was doing. As soon as I showed up, I noticed that there were three girls, pretty alike in appearance, two older boys, a teenage three teenage boys, two other teenage girls, and two sets of adults eating dinner. I glanced over. None of them were the "black-haired beauty" that Demyx described. (Okay, he didn't call her a "beauty" either. So sue me.)

And that's when I noticed the fold-out couch. And that someone was lying on top of the sheets, eyes closed and completely still. It looked like the girl Water Boy described. But what…? I leaned in to touch her, and a blond-haired girl stiffened and turned to me, eyes ablaze.

"Don't touch her." She hissed. I stepped back, almost tripping (Demyx is the one with awful balance, so why did _I_ almost fall?), but managing to right myself. I realized I hadn't bothered with intangibility or anything like that, and everyone was looking at me. And I had an angry blonde after me.

"Why do blonds hate me?" I wondered aloud.

"'cause you're just hate-able, mate." And, right on cue, Luxord appeared.

"What are _you_ doing here?" I asked him.

"I thought I come see the 'Seirei' we've heard so much about… my God, she doesn't look so good."

The blonde glanced between the two of us. "Who are you?"

"Xigbar, my dear. And this is Luxord, my… roommate. I believe we have a mutual friend, Demyx."

That name got her attention. "The one who drove out the demonic soul?"

"Yep. Him. Got a pretty nasty hit too; he's stuck where he is for now. So, he sent _me_ to check up on how his newest c—friend—was doing. And this guy decided to tag along." I thumbed at Luxord, and looked back at Seirei. "But it doesn't look great."

The blonde shook her head solemnly. "She's been like that ever since the demon was gone. I don't know what could be wrong."

I glanced between Seirei and the blonde and then at Luxord. "It looks like something Vexen would know."

Luxord froze and stared at me with an open mouth. "Ask Vexen for help? Xigbar, are you _mad_?"

"Of course I'm not! _I_ wouldn't ask him. But I was thinking _Water Boy_ might."

"Hmm… maybe he would." Luxord turned to the blonde. "Well, looks like we'd better be off, Miss. Perhaps we'll see you really soon." And he faded away, likely to Ghost Town.

I shrugged. "Better get back to Water Boy and tell him what's going on. See you later, Blondie, everyone else." And I faded off too. _Boy, Dem's not gonna take this too well._ I thought.

* * *

><p><em>Destiny: Next chapter Vexen shows up. Yay!<br>__Everyone: …*Cricket noise*  
><em>_Destiny: *Face palm* Ugh. Fine. Fine. Bye.  
><em>_Seirei: Review, because I am _sick_ of being so… ailed._

**Next Chapter…**

"_Honestly, Water Boy. You've lost it!"_

"_Oh, no worries. I'll get back to you later."_

"_They say eyes are 'The Windows to the Soul', so… maybe._

"_Seirei…? What is this place…? We have to get you out of here."_

"_Run! And don't stop! Hurry, Sei—augh!"_


	9. Waking Up

**Chapter 9 (Demyx!): Waking Up**

_Demyx's POV_

When Xiggy and Luxy arrived back home, they explained Seirei's physical condition to me. And my metaphorical heart stopped.

"She's _what_?" I gasped.

"Basically comatose. She won't wake up. And that blonde girl was about to kill me." Girls, blondes especially, seem to like to kill Xigbar. In fact, he was murdered by a blonde girl, and so he arrived here.

"Oh, God…" I groaned, setting my face in my hands. "What do I do?"

"There's always Vexen you could ask, mate."

I lifted my head in a quick jerk. "Vexen?"

"He's been around so long. Surely he'd know."

Xigbar turned to our roommate. "Luxord, I'd been _kidding_ when I suggested Demyx see Vexen. No one—"

"I guess I should go, then. The sooner we know, the better." I got up and started towards the door.

Xigbar paled. "W-Wait. Where are you going?"

"To see Vexen."

"Seriously?" I nodded. "Christ… Honestly, Water Boy, you've lost it."

"I have to save Seirei," I said. And that was the end of it. I opened the door and exited into Ghost Town.

Why does Vexen know all? Well… he's been around here a long time. And I mean a _long_ time. He was killed in the Crusades, if that helps you figure out how long he's been here. So he knows a lot. As for why Xigbar was nervous about me coming… let me explain this for you. Ghosts can live in Ghost Town and the living world for two hundred years after their death. Exactly. And then they go to heaven, or whatever's waiting for them.

But that causes a contradiction, I know. If Vexen was killed in the Crusades, he shouldn't be around. But you see, Ghosts can transfer some of the time they have left to another. That's how Vexen works. He gives information at the cost of time. For himself. He says he's content with staying here forever, not wanting to know what lies beyond. So he keeps giving out information, adding years onto his "lifespan". And I was going to see him. But it was for Seirei. I _had_ to save her.

I got to Vexen's home. The "wise man" so to speak, was there. He was always In his home, waiting for a spirit to come and ask him something. I knocked on the door, and a sickly pale man with platinum blond hair and green eyes answered.

"Vexen. I need your help."

He looked at me curiously. "Demyx, right?" I nodded. He glanced down. "My God. What have you done to yourself?"

"Got in a fight with a demon. But I need information."

"Very well." He turned and started into the house. "Follow me." I walked behind him to the sitting room. He took a seat on the couch. I stayed standing. "Now, what question do you have?"

"A living human was possessed by the demon. I exor—got it out of her, but now she won't wake up. Do you know how I can wake her?"

He was silent a moment. "Yes. I believe I do."

"How?" I gasped. "Please tell me!"

"Hold on, Demyx. First, payment."

This was the painful part. "How much do you want?"

"Thirty years."

Thirty years? I only had fifty years left! From using various ghost abilities in the living world, I'd already lost six years, but _thirty_? _All at once?!_ But it was for Seirei… Vexen reached his hand out, and hesitantly, I took it. The effect was instantaneous. I yelped. Pain was coursing all through my body, forcing me to my knees. It hurt, giving up so much life at once. Thirty years was nothing to sneeze at, that's for sure.

Finally, the pain subsided. Vexen sighed in relief. "It's always _so nice_ to get more life," he said.

"Not very pleasant losing so much," I groaned, standing back up. "You have your payment. Now, tell me how to save Seirei."

"It's simple, really. Obviously, during possession, the demon trapped your… friend's… spirit in some way. You just need to enter her body, find the spirit inside there, and free her."

"How?"

"The best thing I can think of is possession. They do say that eyes are the window to the soul… and since possession requires looking into the vessel's eyes… perhaps you can find her spirit."

That was all I needed. "Thank you, Vexen. I'll be on my way."

"Just be cautious! Possessing a body in your condition is dangerous if the vessel fights back." He was referring to the injury on my side. I nodded in thanks, and quickly headed to the living world, to wherever Seirei was.

I stayed invisible, so I could see who was there. The three triplets, Roxas, Seirei's parents, the two other adults, and few others were sitting around the table. Roxas kept glancing towards the couch worriedly. I looked behind me to the couch. It was pulled out, and Seirei was lying there, wrapped in sheets. Her eyes were closed and sunken in, and her skin was pale and clammy and drenched in sweat. But she was completely still.

"My God… Seirei…"

And then the blonde girl, Naminé, glanced my way. "Demyx?" She asked.

I turned back to the group. "Demyx is the one who saved Seirei, right?" The black-haired woman, Seirei's mother, asked.

The blond man beside her nodded. "I believe so."

Naminé cocked her head. "Why aren't you showing yourself?"

I winced. "Um… well… just don't freak out." And I let myself become visible.

The spiky-haired brunet screamed like a girl and jumped at the sight of me. The redhead guy stared wide eyes. "Good God… What the hell happened to you?"

I grinned sheepishly. "Uh… that's what I get for taking on a demon without any weapons… Probably not the smartest move…" I looked back to Seirei. "She's been like this since…"

The redhead answered again. "Since you exorcized that demon out of—Dude, are you okay?"

The word had brought me to my knees again. That stupid little word has so much power over one of us. "I'm fine. Just… please don't use that word. It's painful."

Roxas spoke this time. "Do you… know how to wake her up?"

"I think so. The only thing is… it requires possession."

"_Possession?!_" Seirei's father yelled. "No! Out of the question! No ghost is possessing my daughter!"

I winced. "Um… it's the only thing anyone in Ghost Town can think of…" The blond man was still seething. "And I'll come out as soon as I can! It's just… her spirit's trapped somewhere in there… and the only way to find it…"

"Is to enter her body," Naminé finished in realization. "Mr. Strife, I think you should let him do it."  
>"Why? He could… he could…"<p>

"I think he should do it, Cloud." Seirei's mother said.

"Tifa?"

"Well… Seirei trusts him, apparently. And for some reason… so do I. And besides, do you have any better ideas?" The blond was silent. "Demyx, right?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am," I said.

"Do it. Save Seirei. And… I don't know if it'll help, but good luck."

I nodded in thanks. And I gently touched Seirei's face and pulled an eye open. It was dead and dull, but it would still serve its purpose. I looked right into it, and slowly felt myself, falling… falling…

Until I sat up with a gasp. Whoa, this was _weird._ I hadn't possessed anybody before, and being a female was so odd! I then noticed that I—or, Seirei, technically—didn't have any clothes on, so I quickly pulled up the sheet to cover my chest.

The Naminé, the redhead—Axel, I think?—the bluish-haired guy—Zexion—and Roxas came over. "Is that you, Demyx?" Naminé asked.

"Y-Yeah. It's me. Can't you tell?"

Then Roxas noticed something. "It's the eyes. They're sea-green."

"Exactly. The eyes always change."

"But… they didn't…"

"Barely. Abigail has blue eyes, so… at least in human form. You probably just didn't bother to notice."

"Is… Seirei… in there?" Roxas asked.

"I think so. I'll need to look around for a bit. Oh yeah." I lied back down. "Don't freak out. I'm not hurt or anything." And I, for lack of a better term, passed out.

* * *

><p><em>Seirei's POV<em>

I was so tired of being stuck! I was somehow chained to this wall—where _was_ I, even? Sometimes I heard the voices of Mom, Dad, Roxas… I even heard Demyx once or twice. But I couldn't tell where they were coming from.

"Seirei!" Great. It was happening again. More voices. "Seirei!" Twice at once? Now that was different. "Seirei! If you can hear me, answer me! _Please!_" Was that… Demyx? Where was he?

"Demyx?" I yelled.

And then I heard a reply. "Oh, Seirei! Thank God!" And suddenly he ran into view. I stifled a scream. He had this huge, horrible wound on his left side…

And he was in front of me in a second. "Are you okay?" He asked.

I swallowed the scream and nodded. "The… that wound! Are _you_?"

"I'm fine. It looks much worse than it really is." He looked at the shackles chaining my wrists. "Just a moment." He closed his eyes, and suddenly the chains were gone. I didn't bother asking how on earth he managed to do that. I was free.

I jumped up and hugged him. "Demyx! Thank you!"

"D-Don't mention it. You might want to get home, though. Your family's worried."

"My family? What happened, exactly?"

"You were possessed by a demon." I was _what?_

"You might want to get back." Without another word, I was running. Where? I didn't know, but I had to get to my family. I had to ease their worries.

* * *

><p><em>Destiny: Ugh, this chapter's short. I ran out of ideas.<em>

_ Demyx: I thought you were gonna have us argue, and let it be seen from outside Seirei's body, so it was like she was arguing with herself._

_ Destiny: It didn't work out. I might use that later._

_ Seirei: Aww…_

_ Demyx: Well, I suppose reviewing would be best, readers._


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